Dino has named his transition team to start preparations for a new administration.

That should throw the fear of God into various department heads he has said he will fire. It is going to be very very close, but I really think Rossi has a chance of winning this, but just by a hair. Confirmation of new department heads could be a mess with Dem's controlling the House and Senate.

7
posted on 11/10/2004 9:09:28 AM PST
by Robert357
(D.Rather "Hoist with his own petard!" www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1223916/posts)

Fire enough of them to scare the rest into submission to the law and order.

I have mixed feelings about that. On the one hand several decades ago, I use to pride myself on being a civil servant in a County wide government agency. That agency was not general tax base funded but was revenue funded and run pretty much like an efficient business.

On the other hand one of the best things I think that happened to federal government was that a whole bunch of democratic party staffer got fired when the Republicans took control of the House and Senate in Washington DC many years ago. As someone who has gone back to DC to lobby on legislation, it is the staff people not the elected officials that really shape the language of legislation and write the legislative history that allows the courts to come up with the most bizzare interpretations.

As to Olympia State employees. I work with an know several. Many are competent and hard working folks. Because of state pay scales and salary freezes, few are what I would call real star performers. Some are and they tend to stand out and get worked very very hard. Some are good folks trying to do a good job and do their work methodically but effecitively. Others are there for the "job security." Job security and the ability to take off an not return calls or get things done by deadlines is probably considered by many state employees as a "job benefit" and trade off to lower pay and little chance for real advancement.

Having said that there are also those high up in agencies who are political hacks. Sometimes a Department will get leaders that really want to make a change and that are use to being able exercise control as in the private sector. Public employee unions in Olympia usually knock those folks off at the knees really quickly and embroil them in the courts.

If Dino changes agency heads to shake things up, he is going to need to figure out how to change the culture of Olympia and to scare the public employee unions. Maybe Jim Johnson on the Supreme Court can help there. I think change is needed, that someone needs to start the process, but it is going to take more than 6 months, unless Dino can figure out a way to "outsource" enough jobs in a specific department so that the unions and employees want to deal and want to implement change rather than face total job losses.

11
posted on 11/11/2004 8:38:17 AM PST
by Robert357
(D.Rather "Hoist with his own petard!" www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1223916/posts)

Ruth Bennett ran to the left of the Democrat candidate. Ms. Bennett was demonstrating that Liberterians can take votes away from both sides equally. She ran specifically to get Rossi elected. The Seattle Times did an article on her and her campaign a couple of days ago. Go to www.seattletimes.com/politics for information. Ms. Bennett has actually ran for office before. In 2000, I believe she ran for Lt. Governor on the campaign promise to abolish the office. She got my vote that time around because the Republican was not going to win, I couldn't vote for Brad Owen, and I agreed that the position was unneeded and has a 400K annual budget. I know I could do a lot of $400K and we didn't need the office.

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